Machine for marking the surface of a column of plastic material



Feb. 22, 1949. F. 1. GASE 2,462,628

MACHINE FOR MARKING THE SURFACE OF COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL Filed Aug.27, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llilllll.

F. MACHINE FOR MARKING THE SURF AGE 1. GASE Feb, 22, 1949.

OF A COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1945FRANKLIN I. GA 65 iatented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES TENT remNIATERIAL Franklin I. Gase, Cleveland, Ohio Application August 27, 1945,Serial No. 612,960

9 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in building materials, andparticularly to novel and improved imitation out stone materials. itfurther relates to machines and methods for producing imitation buildingblocks having the surface appearance of genuine cut stone.

One object of the invention is to devise a 131; chine for operating on asurface of plastic or semi-plastic clay or like composition, in the'formof a continuou ribbon or separate blocks, in such manner that thesurface operated on, when baked or otherwise hardened, presents anappearance similar to or identical with that of a stone block which hasa rough surface finish produced by stone cutting tools.

In one preferred method of accomplishing this and related objects, Ipass a ribbon of the unbaked clay through a machine of the nature justnoted, and later to be more fully described, and while such ribbon isprogressing through the ,machine its surface is subjected, successively,to

the scraping or cutting action of cutting means such as a series ofrotating scoops, knives, or

blades which are applied to the ribbon from laterally opposeddirections, portions of the surface being cut away to varying depths andin apparent haphazard arrangement so as to produce the desired result.After issuing from said operation, the ribbon is cut transversely intoblocks or" any convenient dimensions, and these blocks are rotatedthropgh $0 degrees and aged passed through the machine and subjected tothe action of the cutting blades, this time transversely to the originalcutting directions so as to present the appearance of having beenchiseled by hand.

I have further provided working means to remove excess clay scrapingsfrom the surface of the ribbon after the operation just described. Ihave likewise provided brushing means for cleaning the cutting surfaceof the cutting means after each cutting stroke.

All these and other novel and advantageous structures will now bedescribed, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an end elevation of my machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of themachine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view, somewhat enlarged from the scale of Figs. 1, 2 and 3,and showing one embodiment of cutting tool and fragmentary portions ofits supporting means and the clay ribbon; and

5 is a sectional view taken on the line i---5 of Fig. 4.

Before the present invention is describedin it to be understoodKthatsuchi'nv'ention ot limited to the details of construction specificarrangement of-parts herein 1111s.; or described, as the inventionobviously ake other forms. Italso is to be uiide l' atthe phraseology orterminology herein is for the purpose of description and i: orlimitation.

Referring now to the drawings, an extruded or otherwise produced ribbonof clay 2t is ad? vanccd at moderate speed" along a trough-like runwaycomprising a base plate lfi-and -two side walls 23, the conveyormechanism not being illustrated in detail since it formsno-"es'sentialpart of the present invention. Forward'motiorli be imparted to theribbon by means-"oi endless belt 2 or many other suitable w The beltcarries the ribbon through a machine assembiy comprising a table top 25supported' o n leg the base plate 22 being supportedon brackets fiXEd tolegs 25. While being thus conveyed, for example in the direction of thearrows in Fig. or towards the observer in Fig. 1, the clay ribbon issubjected to the action of a meclani'sm now to be described" m suitableconnecti n with its motive means.

The table top (Figs. 1 and?!) carries a conventional motor which drivesa shaft 3 operativeiy associated, through a housed reduction gearingwith another shaft 3;, and'a' worm Worm as is in mesh with a gear 3 5-fixed to a shaft 35 to which is attached a turntable which in theembodiment shown is assembled in skele ton form from a plurality ofspokes A and a peripheral of octagonal contour. The turntable shaft 35journal'ed in a thrust hearing 35, and the turntable is suspendedinnnediately above the moving ribbon of clay-'22.

The turntable carries scraping means here shown (Figs. and 5) as a cranklever having" angular-1y disposed arms 4| and li pivoted at theirjunction 43 to a bracket l icarrled byrim' The lower endof arm M carriesascr'a'ping finger 45 here shownof triangular contour," al though itsshape is a matterof choice'determined by such surface appearance as isdesired for the finished face of the building block.' Bracket 5, isvertically adjustable with respect; to rim 38 in any suitable manner,and for example the attaching bolts 56, which seat in threadedaperturesin rim 38, may pass through slightly oversized slots in bracket 44-.The'short 'arm'l t' of the crank lever rests against an adjustable stophere shown as a set screw 28 seated in a threaded aperture in a lug 49integral with or afiixed to bracket 55. Arm 4| is biased against thestop by a counter-weight 5:) on arm 6322. As

the turntable rotates counter-clockwise (Fig. '3) so that the scrapingtool is carried into contact with the left face of the clay ribbon(Figs. 1 and 4), it will be apparent that the finger point 65 will beginto drag transversely along the upper surface of the ribbon 2!, the exactdisposal of the score mark being dependent on the forward speed of theribbon and the lineal speed of the finger in its rotary path. Theresistance encountered by the point 25 in its travel will tend to swingsaid point clockwise (Fig. 4) around its pivot 53, this tendency beingresisted by the counterweight 50. As a result of the several factorsjust noted, the flaked surface irregularity will be of varying depth 50as to simulate the effect of manually cutting a stone, with thevariations associated with the hand work of a stone mason.

While one scraping tool is being drawn from left to right across theribbon, at the bottom of Fig. 3, another is being carried in theopposite direction, namely from right to left, at the top of Fig. 3. Asa result, the ribbon is scored inwardly from two lateral faces. Theeffect may be accentuated by cutting the ribbon into bloclm, and sendingsaid blocks through the same or a similar machine, each block beingultimately rotated ninety degrees from the original direction of travel,so as to acquire surface grooves ex-- tending inwardl from all four topedges of the block.

In the embodiment shown the turntable carries eight scraping tools ofthe general type shown in Figs. 4 and 5, although they may individuallyvar in shape, or in height of application to the ribbon, so as tointroduce still additional varia tions in the appearance of the surfacemarkings on the finished block.

The turntable further carries a spaced succession of wipers 53 dependingfrom the turntable, and disposed to wipe loose clay particles from theribbon surface. If desired the wiping edge may be of flexible,rubberlike material, or may carry bristles or other suitable surfaces ofcontact.

I have provided cleaning or brushing means for removing clay particlesfrom the operating surface of the scraping means, for example from thepoint 45 shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A shaft 5% disposed parallel to thedirection of ribbon travel, carries affixed thereto a rotary brush 55,the bristles of which are in the path of travel of the cutting tools.Shaft 56 carries a pully 5S driven by a belt 57 from a pully 58 on shaft3%. A companion shaft 66, on the other sid of ribbon 2i and parallelthereto is driven from shaft 5 3 by a belt 5|. Shaft 68 likewise carriesa rotating brush 62 which cleans the scraping tools on the other side ofthe machine. A glance at Fig. 3 indicates that scraping tools, travelingcounterclockwise, and leaving the ribbon at the top of the drawing, arecleaned by "brush 52, while scraping tools leaving the ribbon at thebottom of the drawing are cleaned by brush 55.

After all scraping operations, such as hereinabove noted, are completed,the still semi-plastic blocks are baked and finished in conventionalfashion. The stock may previously have been impregnated with anysuitable coloring compound to produce the exact appearance of anycharacteristic type of stone.

As a result of the structure hereinabove described the scored markingsproduced by the scoring or scraping tool 4 5 vary irregularly, and thereis no general tendency of the apparatus to reproduce an identicalpattern. The tool in the embodiment shown, and described, is biasedtowards scoring position merely by gravity, as accentuated when desiredby the presence and position of the counter-weight, but it is apparentthat an equivalent effect might be produced, even in other directionsthan downwardly, by biasing the tool towards the column of plasticmaterial by spring means, or other resilient pressure, such pressurebeing of any suitable or desired magnitude, equivalent for example tothe gravity ef-' fect produced in the embodiment disclosed. The effect Iprefer is one in which the tool bias is sufficient to initiate thescoring stroke at a side edge of the plastic block or column, thefurther behaviour of the tool being responsive in part to its normalbias, and in part to the varying resistance of the plastic mass to thetool travel. I have found that, generally speaking, the effect producedis a novel one, resulting in a building block characterized, by scoremarks decreasing in depth and width from the point of origin towards thecenter, but said decrease in depth and width being of non-uniformcharacter. The absence of a monotonous uniformity, such as is apparent,for instance, in a building block made from plastic material by amolding or stamping process, is further accentuated, if desired, byintroducing a predetermined irregularity or rate change either in therelative motion between the machine and'the traveling column or ribbonof clay, or between the movable tool supporting turntable and the saidribbon.

As hereinbefore intimated, an additional variation in surface appearancemay be produced by using, on the same turntable assembly a variety ofscoring or scraping tools, each such tool producing its own respectivelyvarying effect. Each individual tool may further be prearranged toproduce deeper or shallower markings, as desired, both by varying theposition and weight of the counter-weight, or by changing the positionof the adjustable stop. a V

The effect most to be desired, and which most closely resembles theproduct of manual stonecutting, is a flaking effect wherein the toolwhich I have hereinabove designated as a scraping, scoring, or cuttingtool, isdragged through and over the upper surface of the moving columnof soft clay. Under the influence of gravity or other biasing effect thepoint of the scraper turns up flakes of clay which are subsequentlyremoved by the wiping blades. The final effect is a haphazard one, in noway resembling the monotonous regularity of surface contour pro duced byprevious methods of producing simulated cut stone.

What I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the 'appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative tosaid machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column,movable means for moving said scraping means transversely across saidcolumn, said scraping means being loosely mounted for pivotal motion onsaid carrying means, and being biased to scraping contact with saidcolumn.

2. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative tosaid machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column,movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across saidcolumn, said scraping means being loosely mounted for pivotal motion onsaid carrying means, said scraping means being gravity biased toscraping contact with said column, and adjustable stop means, fixed withrespect to said carrying means, and operatively engageable with saidscraping means, for establishing a maximum depth of cut for saidscraping means.

3. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for producing relative movementbetween said column and said machine, tool carrying means rotatablymounted for travel in a curved path in a plane parallel to and adjacentto the upper surface of said column, and a scraping tool loosely pivotedon said tool carrying means and biased to scraping contact with saidcolumn.

4. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for producing relative movementbetween said column and said machine, tool carrying means rotatablymounted for travel in a curved path in a plane parallel to and adjacentto the upper surface of said column, and a scraping tool loosely pivotedon said tool carrying means and biased to scraping contact with saidcolumn, and adjustable stop means fixed with respect to said carryingmeans for establishing a maximum depth of cut for said scraping tool.

5. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material advancingtherethrough to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone,said machine comprising means for moving said column through saidmachine, a turntable rotatably mounted for travel in a circular path ina plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, ascraping tool loosely pivoted on said turntable adjacent the peripherythereof and gravity biased to scraping contact with said column, andadjustable stop means fixed with respect to said turntable andoperatively engaging said scraping tool for establishing a maximum depthof cut for said scraping tool.

6. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material advancingtherethrough to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone,said machine comprising means for moving said column through saidmachine, a turntable rotatably mounted for travel in a circular path ina plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, acrank lever pivotally mounted on said turntable for swinging movement ina vertical plane, a scraping tool carried by one arm of said cranklever, said scraping tool being gravity biased to scraping contact withsaid column, and adjustable stop means fixed with respect to saidturntable, and operatively engaging the other arm of said crank lever tothereby establish a maximum depth of cut for said scraping tool.

'7. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative tosaid machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column,movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across saidcolumn, said scraping means being loosely pivotally mounted to permitswinging movement in a vertical plane and being biased to scrapingcontact with said column, and brush means fixed in the path of movementof said scraping means and adapted to clean said scraping means aftereach scraping stroke.

8. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative tosaid machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column,movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across saidcolumn, said scraping means being loosely pivotally mounted to permitswinging movement in a vertical plane and being biased to scrapingcontact with said column, and brush means fixed in the path of movementof said scraping means and adapted to clean said scraping means aftereach scraping stroke, and working means carried by said movable meansrearwardly of said scraping means in the direction of motion thereof andadapted to wipe loose scored debris from the surface of said column.

9. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings tothe surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material movingrelative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cutstone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative tosaid machine, scraping means adapted to scrape said surface of saidcolumn, movable means for moving said scraping means transversely acrosssaid column, said scraping means being loosely mounted for motion onsaid carrying means and being yieldably biased to scraping contact withsaid surface.

FRANKLIN I. GASE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,179,601 Ballou Apr. 18, 19161,230,362 Allen June 19, 1917 1,631,220 Nicholson June 7, 1927 1,923,636Minter Aug. 22, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 370,331 GreatBritain Apr. 7, 1932

